Patagonia Gold overcomes challenges to post full-year pre-tax profit

AIM-traded Patagonia Gold has swung to a full-year pre-tax profit, helped by a rise in revenue, after a 12-month period that presented the company with several challenges.

"The year has not been without its challenges as we have transitioned from one project to another," said Christopher van Tienhoven, chief executive of the mining and development company.

"We have faced these challenges in a climate of continuing volatility in the gold price but we remain optimistic in the outlook both for the industry generally and for our business in particular," the CEO said.

"The political and economic changes in Argentina bode well for future investment in this country and we can only be beneficiaries of this."

Patagonia has gold and silver projects in Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. During 2016, the company sold a total of 24,572 oz AuEq at an average gross price of $1,232.50 an ounce.

The company said its revenue rose to $30.0m, against $26.1m previously. It added that pre-tax profit for the 12 months was $2.2m, from a loss of $18.4m.

At 11:13 GMT, shares in Patagonia were flat at 2.02p each.